comment on the dance performances
Upon viewing the three dance performances on Wednesday, I realized that I did not particularly enjoy them. I felt the pieces were incoherent and did not follow a certain theme or story. I had trouble trying to decipher what exactly the meaning behind the dances were, if there were any at all. However, I found the second piece to be the most enjoyable. In the opening number, when the single female dancer came out and seemed to be trying to escape something, her movements made it seem almost as though she were moving backward. The way her hair whipped around her face looked as though someone had put a videotape on rewind. I also greatly enjoyed the sort of pulse that occurred when all the dancers jumped at the same time. It reminded me of a heartbeat, each dancer a muscle, all working in unison to make the movement work. I also felt that the dance overall had a religious undertone. Frequently, the men would lift the women up from their waists to a position over the men’s heads and the women would hold their arms up as if nailed to a cross, reminiscent of the image of Christ on the cross. This notion was aided by the fact that in the beginning and end scenes, the music was eerie and deep, much like that which would be found in a Church. As for the name of the piece, “Selon Desir,” I felt this was a sort of stab at religion because it was criticizing the rigidity of religion. The “pulse” aforementioned required exact unison- no one could step out of place, while desire generally means doing what one pleases. The meaning of the title (according to desire) is contradictory to what religion stands for, which is a sacrifice of desire for a greater good.
-Simone Caccamo